HBO’s ‘The Idol’ Is A Bad Euphoria Parody

I’ve seen some chatter about The Idol’s extremely poor critical reception as a reflection of the idea that modern day critics just don’t like “edgy, sexy” shows. If critics hate it, audiences will still probably love it, right?

Nope, that is…not what’s going on here. The Idol is a bad show. A bad show that also happens to be pretty gross, for good measure. Despite being from the creator of Euphoria, it feels like a much worse parody of that show. And yes, critics do like Euphoria, where that series has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes to The Idol’s 25%. The difference really is that wide in practice.

Some graphic descriptions follow, as there’s really no other way to talk about this show.

The Idol is the story of Jocelyn or “Joss,” a megapop star who is on the comeback trail after having a public mental breakdown. She’s about to release a new single, a process derailed when a photo where she has a…certain bodily fluid on her face circulates around the internet. The photo is indeed shown to viewers.

So, that sort of sets the tone of what we’re going for here, shock and awe, including essentially near-constant nudity from star Lily-Rose Depp (yes, that Depp), somehow, even when she’s wearing clothes.

If you’re thinking it’s kind of weird for two guys, Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye to have their young female star be so frequently nude in their show, aha! You’ve fallen right into their trap! The opening of the show mocks the concept of an “intimacy coordinator,” who gets squirrelly when Joss starts going topless during a cover shoot for her album. Joss protests that she wants to show her boobs, and the intimacy coordinator gets locked in a bathroom so he can’t interfere.

It’s a bad look for Sam “my actresses saying I don’t pressure them to do nudity is raising a lot of questions already answered by my actresses” Levinson, who has been accused of some level of this on Euphoria, and this feels like a direct stab at those who have made that claim (and yes, Euphoria does use actual intimacy coordinators).

Past all this, the show is just…not good. Initially you might be thinking “oh okay, this is a fictionalization of the abuse of Britney Spears as a young pop star” and then they go and start talking about Britney Spears, who exists in this world, and the similarities between her and Joss are just a coincidence. A short while later Kim Kardashian is also named-dropped as someone who became more famous post-sex tape, referencing Joss’s photo scandal. It’s just…strange.

Weirdest of all is The Weeknd’s presence here, who plays a skeezy club owner that Joss likes for inexplicable reasons. It appears he is planning some sort of crime related to Joss, hanging out with hulking tattooed weirdos and scoping out the cameras in her house as he enters. But first there is some sort of 50 Shades of Grey thing going on here, where he says he wants to sexually liberate Joss so she can sing better. To do this he ties her robe over her face, obstructing her breathing before cutting open a hole for air with a knife. And that’s the last shot of the episode.

I’ve heard things get even worse on the misogyny front in episode 2, but after this, The Idol certainly does not seem to be a show that’s going to replace Succession and Barry as a must-watch on Sunday nights. I really do like Euphoria, so I was at least curious about how this show was going to go, despite what critics said, but it’s bad. Gross and bad. I wouldn’t bother.

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